Some More Coffee Terms
ACIDITY The sharp lively quality characteristic of high-grown coffee, tasted mainly at the tip of the tongue. The brisk, snappy quality that makes coffee refreshing. It is NOT the same as bitter or sour and has nothing to do with pH factors. Coffees are low in acidity, between 5 and 6 on the pH scale.
AROMA is a sensation which is difficult to separate from flavor. Without our sense of smell, our only taste sensations would be: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The aroma contributes to the flavors we discern on our palates. Subtle nuances, such as "floral" or "winy" characteristics, are derived from the aroma of the brewed coffee. The smell of coffee grounds is referred to as the Bouquet.
BITTER The taste perceived at the back of the tongue. Dark Roasts are intentionally bitter. Over-extraction (too little coffee at too fine a grind) can cause a bad bitterness.
BLAND The pale flavor often found in low grown robusta coffees. Also caused by under-extraction (too little coffee or too course a grind).
BODY is the feeling that the coffee has in your mouth. It is the viscosity, heaviness, thickness, or richness that is perceived on the tongue. Your perception of the body of a coffee is related to the oils and solids extracted during brewing. Typically, Indonesian coffees will possess greater body than South and Central American coffees. Coffees with a heavier body will maintain more of their flavor when diluted.
BRINY The salty sensation caused by excessive heat after brewing (truck-stop coffee).
EARTHY The spicy "of the earth taste" of Indonesian coffees.
WINY A flavor reminiscent of fine red wine. Kenya is one of the most notables.
ARABICA The better of the two primary types of coffee. Arabica is grown at higher altitudes, is less disease- and pest-resistant, and yields less coffee per year, but has the nuance, liveliness (brightness), intensity, and variety of flavors prized by coffee lovers, with less caffeine. Arabica contains 1.1 percent compared to robusta's 2.2 percent.
BAG A burlap sack of coffee. In various countries it is a different weight. For example: Brazil a bag is 132 pounds. Colombia it is 154 pounds. In Hawaii it is 100 pound. (132 lbs is the most common.) Nantucket Coffee Roasters sells these fantastic bags!
BARISTA Someone who makes coffee drinks as a profession.
BATCH ROASTER A machine which roasts a given quantity at one time.
BLEND A mix of beans from different growing countries in the world, carefully crafted to develop new tastes and sensations not found in regular coffee.
BOURBON One of the older varieties of arabicas, named after the French colony on an island off the coast of Africa. Though delicious, it is difficult to find. Farmers began to abandon it long ago because its yield is less than one half of the newer, less tasty varieties.
CAFFEINE The drug contained in coffee. A bitter white alkaloid derived from coffee (or tea) and used in medicine for a mild stimulant or to treat certain kinds of headache.
CAPPUCINO Cappuccino gets its name from the Italian order of Catholic Capuchin monks, whose hooded robes resemble the drink's cap of foam in shape and color. The frothed milk from the top of the steaming pitcher is spooned on top to "cap" the cappuccino and retain heat. The proportion of espresso to steamed and frothed milk for cappuccino is usually 1/3 espresso, 1/3 steamed milk and 1/3 frothed milk on top.
CUPPING The method that professionals use to taste and evaluate coffee. Coffee is ground into an 8-oz. porcelain or glass cup, and water is poured on top of the coffee. The coffee steeps for a few minutes and the grinds rise to the top, forming a crust. The crust is broken with a silver spoon and the cupper evaluates the coffee's aromas, and, after the coffee cools for a bit, the cupper slurps the liquid, evaluates the flavors, and spits the coffee out to avoid caffeine intake.
DEMITASSE A small (1/2 size) cup used for serving espresso. It is a French term meaning 'half cup'.
DECAFFINATION Green coffee is mixed with water, supercritical carbon dioxide, or methylene chloride to remove caffeine from coffee. The process removes about 98 percent of the caffeine present in the coffee.
ESPRESSO A brewing method that extracts the heart of the bean invented in Italy at the turn of the century. A pump-driven machine forces hot water through fine grounds at around nine atmospheres of pressure. It should take between 18 to 23 seconds to extract a good shot. This will produce from 3/4 to one ounce of great liquid. This produces a sweet, thick and rich, smooth shot of espresso. Comes from the Latin word "Expresere" which means "to press out."
AMERICANO A shot or two of espresso that has been poured into a glass filled with hot water.
CAFFEE AMERICANO Espresso cut with very hot water to fill an American size cup.
ESPRESSO BREVE Espresso with half and half.
ESPRESSO LUNGO A shot that is pulled long for a bit of extra espresso. While many believe this maximizes the caffeine, in most shops this merely produces a bitter cup.
ESPRESSO MACCHIATO Espresso with a minimal amount (or "mark") of steamed milk on top.
ESPRESSO RISETTO Literally "restricted" espresso. A shorter draw, the goal being a thicker and more flavorful espresso.
FRENCH PRESS A device for making coffee in which ground coffee is steeped in water. The grounds are then removed from the coffee by means of a filter plunger which presses the grounds to the bottom of the pot. Also referred to as a plunger pot.
FRENCH ROAST Dark Roasted. Taste bittersweet but not like burnt charcoal.
GRADE The classification of green coffee by size and density. Every country has its own method of grading and the highest grade, though always sold at a premium price, may or may not be the best. In most countries, grades mean very little.
GREEN BEANS The seeds contained within the coffee fruit that, when roasted and ground, yield coffee. Usually green, they can range from dull beige to light tannish green to jade or a blue-green.
HARD BEAN Coffee grown at relatively high altitudes, 4,000 to 4,500 feet. Coffee grown above 4,500 feet is referred to as strictly hard bean. This terminology says that beans grown at higher altitudes mature more slowly and are harder and denser than other beans and are thus more desirable.
HARRAR A very old growing region of Ethiopia which almost always uses the dry process method. It is known for its complex, fruity, winey, and spicy tones.
LATTE A shot or two of espresso that has been poured into a cup filled with steamed milk and topped off with foamed milk (about a 1/4").
MOCHA A small irregular bean which has a unique acid character. Generally shipped from Mocha Yemen or sometimes mixed with coffee shipped from Mocha Yemen.
PEABERRY Usually there are two flat green beans inside of the cherry, but occasionally, only one football-shaped bean develops. This single bean is called a peaberry and they are frequently separated and sold as its own distinct varietal. New Guinea is one of the more popular ones.
ROASTING The cooking process that develops the flavors locked in the green beans. Hot air runs through a machine with a spinning drum that tosses the beans. Regular coffee beans are all from the same country of origin, and are also known as varietal, pure, straight, or estate coffee.
SOFT BEAN Describes coffee grown at relatively low altitudes (under 4,000 ft). Beans grown at lower altitudes mature more quickly and produce a lighter, more porous bean.
PROCESSING Two ways to separate the green bean from the cherry and fruit that surrounds it. The methods are dry (unwashed) processing and wet (washed) processing.
Dry (unwashed) processing. After an initial rinsing, the ripe cherries are spread out to dry in the sun, and raked several times a day to ensure even drying. After two or three weeks of drying, the dry hull is cracked off, much like the shell from the meat of a nut. Dry processing tends to produce earthier flavors that can be very complex but lack the clarity and bell-like tones of washed coffee.
Wet (washed) processing. The ripe cherries are run through a machine that removes the outer cherry, exposing the beans covered with the sticky fruit. The beans are then placed into concrete tanks and covered with water, where, for over 24-36 hours, they ferment and the fruit begins to separate from the bean. They are then dried either in the sun or in mechanical dryers. Beans are wet processed to draw out perfect clarity and brightness of the natural flavors of the coffee.
VARIETAL The term used for the coffee that comes from a geographical region. A Sumatra, Kenya, Costa Rica or a Java are varietals. As in wine...soil, climate and cultivation methods affect the taste of your coffee. The term varietal is actually a misnomer, since Arabica coffee plants are basically of the same species, unlike wine grapes which come from different species of grape vines.
|
